Agents who are looking to build a thriving business need to find their competitive edge, or their advantage over others in their market. And while knowledge of your competition goes a long way in finding your differentiator, I think the most important thing to focus on is getting your house in order.
Finding your competitive advantage also requires looking internally. By defining success and removing uncertainty from within your business, you’ll be able to create amazing customer experiences and offer the best possible service. In order to build a competitive advantage, you need systems that allow your team to provide great service, every time.
Anything you do three times should be put into a system that’s followed by everyone on the team. This will ensure that your client gets an amazing experience at every phase of the transaction. Systems also guarantee that your team operates as a united force, more efficiently and effectively.
On top of following the same systems, your team can also create a competitive advantage by developing core values and a mission statement to lay a solid foundation from which to work. Having core values and a good mission statement can be the difference between success and failure for your team. Knowing your goals and motivations from the beginning is what makes a team out of a group of people; it’s what bonds them and points your team toward mutual success.
If you want to unlock your team’s potential and further define your edge, you should complete a SWOT analysis. Discover your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats all in one tool. Then, adapt your business plan to best suit your unique results. The SWOT analysis sums up your team’s capacity to thrive so that it’s easier to see your options for how to best move forward.
Your income strategy is another area where you can go above and beyond the competition. In order to not only double (but quadruple) the opportunities for you to find business, you need to define four pillars of income and work each one as if it’s your only source of income. The four pillars emphasize that your actions create income—and by focusing on them, you’ll eventually exceed your income goals by understanding and perfecting each area.
There are so many things we can do to raise the bar and set ourselves apart. The bottom line is that you must choose the things that are consistent with who you are and what you provide to your clients. Your competitive advantage will be found in the value that you bring to each transaction; it’s what you do best.
Verl Workman is the founder and CEO of Workman Success Systems (385-282-7112), an international speaking, consulting and coaching company that specializes in performance coaching and building successful power agents and teams. Contact him at Verl@WorkmanSuccessSystems.com, or go to www.WorkmanSuccess.com to learn more.
